Projects

Client:

Cohab

Floor space

9000 m2

The old Lord Hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil is being transformed into an apartment and working complex. We wanted to create a sustainable building with a balanced community living in it. The consumption of the building is very important, because of the conditions in Sao Paulo. There’s a shortage of water in Sao Paulo, for instance. So to use as less water as possible, we used a Grey Water circuit for the toilet in our design. Which basically means that all wastewater of a household is used to flush the toilet. By doing so the water demand of the building is drastically reduced.

Another important factor in our design is the high temperatures in Sao Paulo. To reduce heat, shutters are used to manage the amount of sunlight falling into the building. For the ventilation, an innovative individual heat exchanger is used. All of these systems are easy to maintain, have low costs, are energy efficient and ecologically responsible.

We believe in a platform which extends beyond sustainable building technologies. To encourage a positive economic participation from residents, small work spaces with internet and equipment access, will be provided free of charge. By involving residents, social awareness is created which evokes responsibility by the residents.